Home Tour- Guest Room

Guest Room Tour

My guest room has been a catchall since we moved into our house over two years ago and it's been driving me crazy. A few weekends ago I finally got around to taking everything out and painting the room. We filled in the hundred nail holes the previous owners left for us and applied a fresh coat of paint. It's amazing how much a new coat of paint can change a room. I wanted a white with hints of cool but not too bright. I went with Sherwin William's alabaster which I think turned out just like I wanted.
Once the walls were done, I only moved in what I wanted to keep in the room. I moved board games and books upstairs to the bookcase, got rid of junk, and organized what was left. Even though our guest room isn't technically a bedroom... it's supposed to be an office... I so happy to have a welcoming, neat space for our family and friends when they come and visit.

Mirror is from Homegoods. Lamps can be found here. 

Mirror, dresser, and fan are antiques.

I bought the side tables off Craigslist, gave them a fresh coat of paint, and some new hardware... Tada! I love how they turned out. 

I forgot to get a picture of the door with my camera so I took one on my phone but I wanted to show the doors. Even though you can't see through the curtains, I want to get some that are white and a thicker material. 

Before

After

I hope you enjoyed my guest room tour. I have more plans of things to add (like maybe a blue rug and some art) but I'm happy with it especially compared to where it was. What else do you think I need to add?

Also, today's my little sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Melanie! No matter how old you get, I'll always be older and you'll never let me forget that. 😉

Organizing the Chaos in my Pantry

How I took my hot-mess pantry from this

  

to this

I finally got fed up with my pantry and decided I had to make a change. Every time I tried to find something all I could see were half-eaten boxes of chips and chaos, which would make me so frustrated I'd forget what I was looking for in the first place. 
I'm having to pack lunches everyday for both boys so I wanted a pantry with everything in its place and neat. I went to Pinterest to get ideas on what I wanted to do without having to make any major changes to the layout. (gotta love pinterest)

First off, I pulled everything out and threw away anything that was half-eaten, expired, or empty. I don't know why people feel the need to save a box of crackers with only 3 left inside. Why leave 3? Eat them or throw them away!!! Same goes with a handful of broken chips.... throw it out!
Second, I bought containers for dry goods, baskets and bins for boxes foods, a rack for the cans to go on, and lazy susans for bottles. 

Third, I labeled the containers and baskets. If a box had individually wrapped items inside, I took them out and recycled the boxes. My label printer can be found here.

I made one basket for pastas/starches in boxes, one for snacks (individual packaged crackers, chips, raisins, etc), one for crackers, one for breakfast items (muffins, grits, etc), and one for treats. I found these baskets on sale at Target. They have several color options and are very reasonable. You can find the ones I have here and here. 

I put applesauce pouches and granola bars into clear bins. The bins I used are for organizing refrigerator items and I got them at TJ Maxx for $3 each. The ones I have are very similar to these.

I put the dry goods (spaghetti, oats, sugars, flour, etc. into their labeled containers. I found these Felli Flip containers at TJ Maxx and Homegoods. They seal similar to the Oxo brand but were about a third cheaper. They're working out great so far. You can find them online here. 

I organized the cans onto a stepped shelf like this one. I put bottles of soy sauce, vinegar, honey, etc. on the lazy susans. I got these at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. You can find them here. 

I hung three Command hooks on the inside of the pantry to hang chip clips on. **Pinterest idea**

I wanted similar foods to be together and easy to find. Now when I'm packing lunches I can grab a snack chip and an applesauce without foraging through boxes plus it's so easy to see when items are getting low. It's made packing lunches and knowing what I need from the grocery store so easy.
Everyone in the house really enjoys the new pantry as it makes meal and snack time less stressful. I'm so glad I did this. It took me about a day and I spent around $100 and it was SOOO worth it.

Life Lately and Birthday Invites

The past month has such a busy time for me. Emmett is a full blown kindergartener and it's taking a little getting used to for me to get everything together when we've got soccer, homework, scheduling not to mention making time for Oliver. It doesn't help that the past few weeks the boys have been alternating getting sick and when they're both feeling well along comes hurricane Irma. I realized just this past week that I've got to get on the ball to get Oliver's 2nd birthday party planned. I love a good party and planning it is so much fun for me. Since Irma caused the schools to close we were able to get in a little photo shoot for Oliver's invitations. I just love photo invitations for my boys and I wanted to share Oliver's for this year and well as a look back at some of the prior years.
It's so cute to look back at old ones and see how much they've grown.

The design is from CandiceCards on Etsy. You can find it here. 

How cute are these boys!?! I love looking back and remembering how cute they were and how much fun their parties were. Stayed tuned because I'll be sharing pictures from this years party as well as a few from Oliver's 1st birthday because he was such a handsome little lumberjack. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. 

Delicious Smoked Grilled Chicken

I don't know why it's so hard for me wrap my head around three day weekends, especially when I don't have to go work on Monday. All day it's felt like Monday, but, of course, it's Tuesday. I guess that's not a bad thing... only three more work days in this week after today. 

I hope you all had a productive and fun Labor Day weekend. I sure did. I got in lots of quality time with the family and got a home project checked off my list that I'll be sharing with you soon. Here's a hint... it's something our guest will appreciate. 

Today I wanted to share one of the easiest, most flavorful chicken recipes ever. If you haven't noticed the trend yet, my recipes are all about making the most of what limited time I have to prepare food and creating a dish that can be used in a variety of ways, and this one is no different. 

We eat lots of chicken breast. It's affordable, lean, and very versatile but it can also be dry, bland, and tough if not prepared right. This recipe is taken for several different ones that I've combined to make this juicy, flavorful grilled chicken. My mother-in-law introduced me to the idea of brining chicken breasts, while Pierce added his own flare by smoking it. The outcome is a smokey, tender chicken recipe you can eat as a main course or chop up for chicken salad or add to a wrap. I used leftovers to make my favorite chicken salad recipe found here. 

Smoked Grilled Chicken

• 4 pounds of chicken breasts (boneless or bone-in, your preference but allow additional cooking time for bone-in)
• 10 cups of water
• 1/4 cup of salt
• 1/4 cup of white vinegar
• wood chips (I used hickory) soaked in water

On your stovetop in a large pot over medium heat, combine 3 cups of water with all the salt. Heat until the salt is dissolved stirring occasionally. Remove from heat when dissolved. Add the rest of the water and all the vinegar. When mixture is room temperature add the chicken breasts.  Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. The longer you marinade the chicken the saltier it will be. You can marinade for as little as 2 hours but wouldn't recommend marinading for more than 6 hours. 

Soak wood chips in water for several hours prior to grilling. 

When ready for the grill, pour off the salt and vinegar water from the chicken. Place breasts onto preheated grill. I prefer charcoal but use what you've got. Flip occasionally. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken breasts. Cook until the internal temperature of chicken reaches 165℉. 

Smoking the chicken is optional but adds a nice flavor. If you want to smoke it, pour water off of soaked wood chips and add to the charcoals in the last 5 minutes of grilling. You can go longer but you don't want it too smokey that you can't eat it. If you're using a gas grill, place wood chips in a smoker box and place on grill rack and close the lid for the last five minutes. Flip at least once. 

When chicken is cooked thoroughly, remove from grill and let rest for at least five minutes before serving to allow time for the juices settle. 

Enjoy!

Every time I serve this chicken I get so many compliments. I grilled this on Saturday and served it with corn on the cob, tomato cucumber salad, and buttered baguette. It was fabulous. Pierce made himself several sandwiches with the leftovers and on Monday I used what was left make chicken salad. I love how many meals I can make off this one recipe. 

It looks like the southeast may be in for another hurricane, so stay safe out there. 

Off to School We Go

Oh my gosh you guys! My oldest baby started kindergarten today and I couldn't be more happy but also a little sad at the same time. He's growing up so fast that I feel like he's going to be leaving for college before I know it... agh!!
He was so excited. He's been wanting to start his "new school" and be a big kid since spring so today was a big one for him. Look at how handsome and awesome my big guy is.

shirt // shorts // sneakers

I had to get him some new threads and gear to start off his school experience. He picked out own backpack and lunch box. I was going to go with the traditional LL Bean style but Emmett was adamant that he wanted gray... the only color they don't have, so I found a few other options. He settled on the gray camo from Land's End. The backpack seems well made and it has lifetime warranty so this one should last him for years to come. It's a good size, but not overwhelming with room to grow. Right now they're 25% off with code SUNTAN. 

Camo Medium Backpack

Hopefully I've got a few more years before this one is relevant... we'll see. 

Weekend Fun

Since I've been too busy to post lately I thought I'd get back into it by sharing a little of what the fam and I did this past weekend. As always, the weekends are busy and exhausting mostly because the boys are full of energy and need/want constant interaction... whew, I'm still recovering.

I try to find activities for the kids on the weekends. I've heard other people talking about hunting for painted rocks and it sounded right up my alley. With a little research I was able to find several groups in the Charleston area. Search #charlestonrocks on instagram and Facebook to find local groups and locations for where to hunt.
So what's with the rocks?
1. find rocks
2. paint rocks
3. post rocks with hints on where to hunt for them
4. hide rocks
5. find other people's rocks which you can either keep or re-hide

I told Emmett about it and, like I expected, he was totally up for so we went to our local park to look for hidden painted rocks and find rocks we could paint.

dress // sunglasses

Searching for rocks and getting in some play time at the park.

Clean the rocks you find before painting. Let dry.

Both boys love to paint and although Ollie mainly painted the plate, we all had fun.

Mine, Emmett, and Oliver's creations. Add a clear protective coating and they're ready to be hidden.

On Sunday the weather was absolutely gorgeous so we spent most of the day outside beginning at Waterfront Park in Mt Pleasant. They have a great playground, plus it was a good spot to hide a few of our newly painted rocks. 

shirt (similar) // shorts // shoes

Have you heard about the painted rocks? If so, where are the best place to hide and find them? Good luck and happy hunting. If you happen to find one of ours, please let me know. I'd love to know where they wind up. 

On a side note... how cute is this purse I snagged this weekend as an early birthday present to myself. Love it!! 

Is it wrong to look forward to Monday? At least I know I can get some quiet time at work ;-)

Best Ever Chicken Salad

While everyone else is obsessing over the Nordstrom anniversary sale I thought I'd go in a completely different direction and share a delicious recipe I made recently. Not that I don't love a good sale, but it seems like its the only thing being talked about and it's a bit overwhelming. So instead of sharing shopping lists, today I'm sharing one of my go to, super easy, and uber-delicious recipes.

I find that chicken salad is a quick entree that can be used to prepare several different meals. Eat it with crackers, pile it onto a salad, or make it into a sandwich or wrap. No matter which way you serve it this chicken salad is fantastic. I like to buy chicken breasts and either boil with spices or brine and bake them, or you can use leftover rotisserie chicken. It's so simple, you'll kick yourself for not making it before now.

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced
1 1/2 cups olive oil mayo
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp dried tarragon
salt to taste

Mix together all ingredients. If you're using salted toasted pecans, mix all ingredients without adding any additional salt. Taste and add additional salt if needed. If you want to make it a little less fattening you can replace 1/2 cup of mayo with non-fat Greek yogurt. You can add more mayo and dijon if you want it creamier.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors blend. Enjoy!

In the photo above I served the chicken salad on a Joseph's pita bread with chopped romaine, tomato, and onion with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. So good!

Oliver enjoyed helping mixing everything together, and enjoyed eating it even more.